Setup WiFi Hotspot on Windows 8 Tablet or Computer to share internet

What is wireless ad-hoc connection?

Well, If you set up wireless ad hoc connection on your windows computer, you’ll be able to connect other devices to your computer’s wifi network and thus share the internet connection of your computer with other devices without the need of external router or access point, etc. This is similar to wireless tethering and portable hotspot feature on your android phone. On Windows 7, we have an option in new connection setup wizard in network and sharing center for this purpose, but on windows 8, we do not get any such option to set up wireless ad hoc connection, but that doesn’t mean you can not do it. I wonder why Microsoft removed that particular option from there when every device now a days is coming up with hotspot and tethering feature. Anyways, in this tutorial we’ll learn how to turn our computer into wifi hotspot on windows 8 so that other devices could connect to our computer via WiFi. We’ll also learn how to share our windows 8 computer’s internet connection with other devices without using WiFi router..

How to configure windows 8 computer as WiFi Hotspot

Press win key + x and Choose command prompt (Admin) option from the menu displayed. Alternatively, you can type cmd on start screen, right click on command prompt from the search results, choose run as administrator.

Now in the command prompt window, type netsh wlan set hostednetwork ssid=nameofnetwork key=networkpassword

Instead of typing nameofnetwork in the above step, type any name that you want to give to your network.. Instead of typing networkpassword in step above, type secure hard-to-guess password that you want for your network so that anyone trying to connect to your network must know the password.

Now type netsh wlan start hostednetwork and press enter. You windows 8 laptop/tablet/computer will now be configured as WiFi Hotspot. Any other device could now connect to your computer’s WiFi using the password that you set in the step above. So, Turn WiFi on other devices like your smartphone or another laptop running any version of windows be it windows 7, vista or windows xp. On the second device, your WiFi network name will be shown, connect to it. It’ll ask for the password. Enter the same password you created in second step. Done. Your second device will be connected to your computer’s WiFi.

If you want to remove or stop the newly created ad-hoc connection, type netsh wlan stop hostednetwork in command prompt(admin).

How to share your computer’s internet connection with other devices

In the first part of this tutorial above, we configured our system as WiFi hotspot, but still other devices connected to our system won’t be able to access internet. Hence we need to follow this part of tutorial so that every devices connected will be able to use our system’s internet connection.

First, make sure your main system is connected to internet via WiFi or wired connection or usb modem or whatever medium.

Now type network and sharing center on start screen and choose settings and then choose the concerned search result. Alternatively open control panel and go to the concerned option.

In network and sharing center, your newly created WiFi hotspot as well as your system’s main internet connection will be listed. Click on the network link of your system’s main internet beside Connections and select properties from the dialog box that opens. Select Sharing tab. Tick mark the option – Allow other network users to connect through this computer’s internet connection. Now select your WiFi Hotspot connection name from dropdown box below. Hit on Ok. Done.

Now, all other devices, laptops connected to your computer’s WiFi ad-hoc connection will be able to access internet using your system’s primary internet connection.

If you face any problem with this method, just comment here and we’ll help you. You can also make use of third-party tools like Free Virtual Router for Windows 8 or Windows 7, Connectify, etc, but I hope this method explained in this article is simple and fair enough that you don’t require any third-party utilities. This method also works on Windows 7 and can be used to connect any device be it phone, tablets, another laptop or computer running any operating system.

[…] face any problem following this video, you can read our detailed step by step instructions here : Setup WiFi hotspot on Windows 8. After setting everything as demonstrated, you can create homegroup to share files between windows […]

i am getting this error
”
The username and password cannot be saved saved for use by all user..
as a result internet connection can only dial when u are logged on
’to enable automatic dialing create a new connection and save username and password for all users ”

even though i am using only a single user on my laptop which is also the Admin

hello! iam not getting any dropbox in the sharing tab after ticking the option -‘Allow other network users to connect through this computer’s internet connection’ …instead its just showing a textfield written ‘ethernet’ in it..

when i click the “allow other network users to connect through this
computer’s internet connection under the sharing tab saying
(The username and password for this connection cannot be saved for by all users,as a result,
ainternet connection sharing can only dial this connection when you are log on,
To enable automatic dialing,you should creat a new connection for all users,save your user name and password
for all users,and then enable sharing for the new connection)
CN YOU HELP ME FOR THIS PROBLEM??THANKS IN ADVANCE,,,,,

what do you mean? Did you select public as the network type? Just go to network and sharing center (type this phrase on start screen and choose settings and then this).. click on the connected network link in the window that opens and change the network mode from public to private..

sorry for my english before…i do all step on your tutorial, and then the connection ‘hotspot’ as private network appear, like in your video, i try connect my tab, connected but i cant use the internet connection, why? and then i open the properties of the connection, i click disable…the connection disappear, how to make it back? i try to type netsh wlan start hostednetwork, but its not work like the first i did..(see my first comment)

First, you should stop hostednetwork by typing the following command so that you can start it again: netsh wlan stop hostednetwork
… Now, internet connection was not working in earlier case because you didn’t follow the second part of this tutorial i.e. you need to enable internet connection sharing on your computer’s already connected network.. So, that WiFi network will be able to use computer’s internet..

As you can see in the video, when my WiFi was turned off, I received that error.. I turned the WiFi on and no such errors were received.. Maybe you should try the stop command first and then start command while WiFi should be turned on .. If you’re trying this on laptop, there must be some shortcut key combination to turn on WiFi..

i had tried a lot time but it not done yaar
my wifi is on
i am using private network
but stil not working….”The hosted network couldn’t be started.
The group or resource is not in the correct state to perform the requested operation.”

hi there, thanks for all the information, it worked great until now, i got a problem, when i try to start the connection it tells me that it’s impossible to start the network because the network doesn’t find in the appropriate mode to start the connection, do you have any idea about what should i do in this case?

hi,am stuck at making a internet connection to the new hotspot,after selecting properties and then sharing i clicked on allow………. , but there is no name of the new hotspot in dropdown box ,,,, pls help

Iam facing the same problem what ragav also facing. I hav try the commant with STOP also with the administrator privilage but it still showing, The hosted network couldn’t be started “The group or resource is not in the correct state to perform the requested operation.”. So pls give me the solution for this as soon as possible plsss…..(My wifi is still rising)

I’m posting this comment because wifi problems in Win 8 are quite common.
Had problem to connect new Win8 Samsung Ativ to my wlan, everything seems to be ok, Ativ did show several networks including my hidden one but Windows always returned “cannot connect with this wlan”.
I did turn on “broadcast SSID” on my wireless router and now it works perfectly!

Hey man. I got it to work for a few minutes. But afterwards my phone and tab lost connection and now it wont connect? Is there any reason for that? I tried to stop and start the hostednetwork again. But nothing. It get stucked at connecting. Then fails.

Yes saurabh i have enabled…..have followed all the instructions . I am able to connect to the hotspot with my mobile but there is no internet access. I have also changed the IP and gateway settings in my mobile as indicated in some places but without success.

I’m using Reliance Netconnect+ in my lap & I’m trying to connect my Tab to my lap…
But My Tab doesn’t detect the wifi network created using my lap….
And moreover, when I check on the “Allow other devices…..” in the SHARING tab and press OK, I get the following message
“Since this connection is currently active,some settings will not take effect until the next time you dial it”
And when I disconnect & Reconnect my lap’s internet device(USB modem), I get the same error message…..
Awaiting your reply…
And thanks for this video which was simple & effective… :)

[…] via virtual router program. If you do not want to use any third-party program, let me tell you that Windows 7 or Windows 8 has inbuilt feature to create such WiFi Hotspot and we’ve already discussed that in the linked article. But, those users who want ready-made […]

i tried al the steps which u mentioned , i stopped the wlan which i created
But now m trying to make a new one its saying resourse or group is not in correct format

i tried to download a virtual router as well still in that app also it says the same error
please helpp me, i cant figure out where i need to make changes. is it something more deep i need to change
answer ASAP guys

Hey! Its easy but i’m getting an error : ” The hosted network couldn’t be started.

A device attached to the system is not functioning. ” Please help …… what’s the problem it says device not functioning but my wired broadband modem is connected and i’m able to surf the internet….please reply fast…

I use reliance netconnect+ dongle I tried to share it but it is not happening its shows access type(for hotspot I created )no internet access even though I have shared internet connection of the dongle please help

I am facing the problem in the command. when i type the last command to set the hostednetwork then it says that the hosted network couden’t be started.The group or resources not in the correct state to perform the requested operation.

You’ve to be more specific, like which firewall is active on your system?
Is the problem being faced only using hotspot or on direct net connection as well?
What’s the ip adress resonse you see when you ping google?

Quick question:
If i disconnect the Ethernet cable from my laptop will i lose connection on my smart phone (ipod and iphone)
My sister using the connection so will i be able to connect again on smartphone if she plugs her computer into Ethernet

Also if i remove the Ethernet and it is not connected will i not be able to connect to the wifi i made on smart phone

i have saved my id and password succesfully. but when i want to start the network. there is a error. its showing “the hosted network couldn’t be started. the group or resource is not in the correct state to perform the requested operation”, so what is the problem.

i have saved my id and password succesfully. but when i want to start the network. there is a error. its showing “the hosted network couldn’t be started. the group or resource is not in the correct state to perform the requested operation”, so what is the problem.

I have the same case with Avinav Kumar, can connect to wifi hotspot on my notebook running windows 8, got an IP Address, but cannot browsing to the internet…
I have enabled share at my primary NB connection, try disable firewall and antivirus for a while, disable IPv6, but still no luck… even when I ping (download tools from play store) it’s not reachable as well… stuck and need help here….

Hi.
I need to connect to a vpn connection after connecting to my universities wireless in order to have internet access. I tried your method but there is no internet on the virtual router connection. I would be appreciated if tou help me with this.

Well, I wrote it worked…and it actually does. I can easily connect through WiFi my iPhone 5 to Asus laptop and use the internet…The problem starts when my iphone goes to standby (maybe 5 min). The connection is established again, but internet doesn’t work on the phone. Any idea why this happen? In the meanwhile my 3g usb dongle internet connection works just fine on the laptop. When I disable WiFi on my phone and enable it again…i can’t even connect back to the hotspot…. Help please?

I am getting an error pop-up while selecting checkbox and clicking ok button as ‘An error occured while internet connected Sharing was being enabled. (null). could you please help me ASAP. do i need to set anything from settings

thanks saurabh i do it all well. I have got my wifi hotspot on my mobile too. But i was unable to do net on my phone. So i once again checked connections in control pannel .But it was showing no internet access in my hotspot connection. What i have to do now?

hi saurabh, and gopi ,please help me i did it well as you said. But the thing is i was able to connect wifi to my phone samsung s duos and nokia e63 but i was able to do net on my nokia but in my samsung mobile it was just happening for few seconds after that i was unable to do net in my samsung mobile. What i have to dofor this to get net in my samsung mobile also?

hi saurabh,i created the wifi hotspot last night and i slept off when i woke up this morning my laptop was already dead and i charged it and switched it on but the wifi was gone…please what should i do??!
thanks.

hi i just followed all the steps and the network has been established. I tried to connect this wifi in my mobile but it is not getting connected only.its shows that its authenticating and then i.m getting authentication problem error.
what to do for this error please reply with a solution.
Thank you

when i do it i complete all the steps but at the end when i get ready 2 tick the box that will share my main connection it says “an error occured while network sharing was being enabled, cannot complete this function”….any ideas how 2 fix this problem?

I am able to start hotspot once but when I tried this for second time, I am getting an error telling
“The hosted network couldn’t be started.
The group or the resources is not in the correct state to perform the requested operation”
And also the set up network is not being shown in the control panel
Please help as soon as possible

thanks …… first time when i did this it worked but i am getting one problem now..
in (open network and sharing center) (private network – no internet access)
its showing like this…..and in my mobile its unable to obtain the ip address …

I did all the things which you have advised in the tutorial. My android mobile says that the wifi is connected to my pc’s hotspot. But when I go to browsing, google homepage is not at all getting started. Its has been loading and finally it says that there is a server problem..

Not working.. i have followed every single steps u showed.. but when i connect my blackberry 9800 with this wifi connection, it shows “Failed to get proper IP address” in my mobile screen… What’s the solution ???

After following your complete process, next day by mistake, i right clicked on newly created network and selected disable. now when i am again opening cmd prompt and entering the cmd (netsh wlan start hostednetwork) then m getting rply …’hosted network coudnt be started.. group or resource is not in correct state to perform this operation’. plz help me to resolve this problem. i’ll be thankful to u.

Hi, i am using internet through USB. i have hosted network, connected network.. all set. but, when i connect through my mobile it shows ‘No Internet Access’ though it connects hosted network. i switched off firewall too. But not able to access internet. Plz let me know what should i do..?

created hotspot and shared internet through it successfully. I also see my created hotspot on other wifi devices but when i connect i get authentication error on every device i have checked password many times.

I have a problem when sharing below is the message when sharing is enabled

“the username and password for this connection cannot be saved for use by all users. as a result, internet connection sharing can only dail this connection when you are logged on. to enable automatic dialing, you should create a new connection for all users, save your username and password for all users and then enable for the new connection”………..

hello i have went through all the steps..what u had show in ur tutorial……nd yes ad hoc were started …but the problem is whenever i was trying to connect to that created network through my pc and mobile …it was showing like(authentication problem)…nd wifi is turned on